Summer Blaze
by blitzkreig50889
Summary: A summer tournament is about to take place, but this year there's a new twist to the tournament...the original teams have been split into 3 person teams. Can the team called Summer Blaze learn to work together? Kai/Johnny/Mariah friendship fic. R&R!
1. Prologue

_Blitzkreig50889: Hey, ya'll, I'm back!_

_Kai: noticeably._

_Blitzkreig50889: -.- anyway, before Kai jumped in, I was going to tell you all about the new fic I'm getting ready to release._

_Kai: why do I have the feeling I'm not going to like this fic much?_

_Blitzkreig50889: Shut it Kai! Anyway, I've brought a new fic with me. I'll leave it to the readers of course to find out who the characters are for this fic. I think you'll probably all be surprised since there's no OCS in this fic after the prologue._

_Kai: oh boy._

_Blitzkreig50889: Kai…_

_Kai: fine I'll be quiet._

_Blitzkreig50889: thank you. Anyway, all I'm going to say is if you like the color red and fire, you're going to love this fic._

_Kai: and that in turn means I have to the disclaimer, doesn't it?_

_Blitzkreig50889: nope!_

_Kai: huh?!_

_Blitzkreig50889: Mariah is going to do the disclaimer._

_Mariah: (pops into room) did somebody ask for a disclaimer?_

_Kai: yeah, blitzkreig50889 did so do you mind getting on with it already?_

_Mariah: (shrugs) sure. Blitzkreig50889 does not own beyblade of course. All she owns is her OCS, which after the prologue you won't hear anything out of, and the plot ideas she comes up with._

_Blitzkreig50889: with that said then, let's get onto the fic!_

_Summer Blaze_

_Prologue_

_Stanley Dickinson, aka Mr. Dickinson or chairman of the BBA by his friends and the beybladers of the city, looked out his window. In just a few days, he was going to make the announcement of a lifetime. But first, he had to get all of the beyblading teams around the world present. After all, it was the first time any of them were going to be working with any beyblader that wasn't on their own team._

_Grinning with excitement, he turned back to the pictures of all of the beyblading teams he wanted to hear the announcement. They were going to be so shocked and probably angry with him at first, but he figured it was worth it. After all, with the three person teams he was planning to put together, he was pretty sure this summer's small beyblading tournament was going to be absolutely incredible._

_Deciding it was either now or never, Stanley glanced around for the book of phone numbers and grimaced when it wasn't where he had put it last. He couldn't call the necessary teams and tell them to come to Japan if he didn't have their phone numbers._

_Letting out a small sigh of annoyance at the delay, he began to look around for the necessary phone numbers and the book they were in._

_(New York City, New York)_

"_Max, there's someone on the phone for you!"_

_Max, who had been half dozing through his summer homework, jerked awake. He didn't have a clue in the world as to why he had decided to take honors classes the following fall, but he had._

"_Max!"_

"_What mom?" Max yelled back as he realized his mother had been repeatedly yelling for him for the past two minutes._

"_There's someone on the phone for you."_

_Max blinked. Who could possibly be calling him? Tyson didn't even know what a phone was so it couldn't be him. Kai wouldn't call because that was just how Kai was. And there was no way Ray could call since his native village didn't have phones or phone service. The only person Max could think of that would call him was Kenny, and even Kenny rarely picked up a phone unless he had absolutely no choice._

_Worried that something was wrong with Kenny, Max hurried downstairs and took the phone from his mother's hand. She didn't look worried about anything. In fact, she was actually smiling!_

_Curious, Max spoke into the phone. "Hello?"_

"_Max?"_

_The voice was undeniably Kenny's, but Kenny didn't sound the least bit worried about anything; he sounded excited._

"_Kenny? Is something wrong?" Max queried._

"_No! Not in the slightest. I was just calling to see if Mr. Dickenson had called you yet or not."_

"_No, he hasn't called," Max answered back slightly confused. "Why?"_

"_Well, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone yet, but I just couldn't hold it back. Mr. Dickenson wants all of the members of the Bladebreakers, Blitzkrieg Boys, Majestics, White Tigers, All Stars, F-Dynasty, and the Flaming Hearts to meet up in Japan in a week. He wants to talk to everyone about this year's summer tournament._

"_Summer tournament?" Max murmured. "Doesn't that occur in August?"_

"_Yeah, it does, but I think there's a twist this year to it."_

_Max let out a silent sigh. He already knew that Kenny knew exactly what was going to happen. "Do you mind sharing the 'twist' in this tournament with me?"_

_Kenny let out a small laugh. "Sorry, Max, but I was just calling to make sure you would show up. And to tell you part of the news of course."_

_Max smiled. "Of course I'll be there! I'd never miss a chance to blade with the rest of the teams."_

"_Good. So, see you around in a week?"_

_Max smiled again. Kenny was obviously feeling a little worn down and in desperate need of someone he could talk to that wouldn't look at him as if he were eternally crazy. "Yeah, see you in a week, Chief."_

_(Rome, Italy)_

_Enrique let out a frustrated growl. It was just his dumb luck he'd gotten caught sneaking out of the house to avoid his summer lessons. As far as he was concerned, the lessons were just a waste of time; and rather boring._

_A sudden ringing of the phone caused the tutor his parents had hired to stop talking. Enrique shook his head to clear it before glancing over at the tutor. Between him, the tutor, and the staff that kept the mansion clean, no one else was home. When the phone rang a second time, Enrique cursed under his breath and got out of his chair with a wince. He'd been sitting for so long his joints had gone stiff!_

_Moving stiffly to the phone in the next room, Enrique hoped it was someone he could just hang up on. Although, if it were one of his teammates, that would make things even better. They'd at least be able to get him out of his lousy summer lessons._

"_Hello? Giancarlo residence. How may I help you?" Enrique grumbled into the phone._

"_What kind of reception is that?" A voice demanded from the other end. Enrique's eyes lit up. Never in his life had he ever heard something like that out of his Scottish teammate's mouth._

"_The kind of reception I give every one of my teammates if I don't like them and happen to be having a bad day. But I guess I'll make an exception. What's up?"_

_A sigh on the other end caused Enrique to grin. Johnny hated talking on phones almost as much as he did; possibly more. "Did Dickenson call you at all?"_

_Enrique blinked. "Why would he call me? We're not exactly buddy-buddy if you get my point."_

"_That's not the answer I wanted!" Johnny snapped. Enrique winced. Obviously Johnny wasn't having too good a day either judging the fact his voice had risen to an ear-splitting bellow._

"_Sorry, there's no need to snap out at me. No, he hasn't called and you need to tell me why he would call here in the first place."_

"_Because he has something to tell you…oh, never mind, I'll just let him tell you everything. You'll only end up confused if I tell you." With that, Johnny hung up. Enrique simply glared at the phone and hoped his glare was vicious enough that Johnny could feel it all the way in Scotland._

_Sighing, he walked back into the study where he'd been going through his summer lessons, only to stop as he heard the phone ring again. "Now who is it?" He snarled under his breath. _

"_What?!" He snapped into the phone. A soft laugh on the other side caused him to roll his eyes. Leave it to him to snap out at someone who didn't deserve it._

"_What kind of hello was that? It almost sounded as if you'd been beaten with a stick and were furious at the person who did it," the voice teased._

"_Samantha, what do you want?" He asked after a moment._

"_You didn't say 'hello' yet."_

_He groaned. "You're going to make me say the entire proper hello for answering a phone aren't you?"_

"_Yep, so get talking."_

_Banging his head off of the nearby wall, he recited the entire proper version of a hello. Samantha's laughter when he finished made him bang his head off the wall a second time._

"_That's better, and hello back to you, Enrique. Now, to get straight to the point since I'm sure you were so busy doing something of major importance before I called, did Mr. Dickenson call you yet?"_

_Fighting the urge to throw the phone or snap into the receiver, he answered, "No, not yet. And why would he call me anyway? It's not as if I've done something to get his attention."_

"_Wrong."_

_Enrique blinked. "What do you mean by that?"_

"_You're an exceptional blader, you have one of the most powerful bit beasts around, and you're invited to the small tournament that's being held this summer. I think that classifies as you having done something to get his attention."_

_Glancing into the room next door where the tutor was shooting him glares, nearly made him sigh. Well, if it got him away from this, then he'd do it no matter what the rules were for the tournament._

"_Okay, sounds good to me. When is it?"_

"_When's what?" Samantha asked in confusion._

"_The tournament!"_

"_Oh, that hasn't been released yet. All I know is that it's soon."_

_Enrique banged his head off the wall a third time. How the heck was he supposed to get away from this irritating tutor if he didn't have a date and time in which to get away?_

_A sudden knock on the outside door caused Enrique to jump and nearly drop the phone. "Samantha, I got to go. I'll talk to you later sometime."_

"_Okay, bye. Hope-"Enrique hung up the phone before Samantha could finish and ran for the door. The person on the other side of it once he opened it was the last person he'd ever expected to see on the other side of a door._

"_Hiya, cousin!" Enrique teased. "What brought you all the way here to Rome, Italy?"_

_(Moscow, Russia)_

"_Tala! Help! Bryan's trying to kill me again!" Ian yelled in terror._

_Tala let out a sigh. It was the seventh time today Ian had called for help in escaping an irritated Bryan. _

_As usual, Tala ignored the two arguing bladers and left Spencer separate them. He was still sitting in the chair at the table where he'd been since the early hours of the morning when the phone rang. The series of chirping noises Ian had programmed it to release forced Tala out of the chair as almost nothing else could do._

"_Hello?" he queried into the phone. Whoever it was, he certainly hoped they didn't intend to talk too long._

"_Hey, T. I've got some news for you."_

_Tala rolled his eyes as Kai tossed off a casual greeting. Since the last World Championships, both bladers had nearly been inseparable. Add to that the fact they were both becoming better at holding casual conversations and most of the world was prepared to have a heart attack._

"_Well, what is it then?"_

_Kai chuckled at Tala's answer. "Gee, bad mood?"_

"_Kai," Tala growled. His growl only caused Kai to chuckle again._

"_Alright, T, don't blow a fuse. I just wanted to let you know that the summer tournament is still on, that the Majestics, White Tigers, All Stars, F Dynasty, and of course the Bladebreakers will all be present. All anyone is waiting to know is if you and your teammates along with the Flaming Hearts are going to be present."_

_Tala scoffed. "As if we would miss a beyblade tournament of any sorts! Count us in!"_

"_Good. Now I need you to do me a favor."_

"_Do I even want to know why?"_

"_No, you don't. Just answer me about the favor crap, Tala."_

_Tala sighed. "Fine, what is it?"_

"_I need you to get to Rome, stat, or I may just end up a dead blader."_

"_Why's that?"_

"_Because I'm using Enrique's phone and I've already succeeded in pissing him off and in pissing off almost everyone in the house."_

_Tala let out an exasperated sigh. "You just can't stop yourself can you?"_

"_Nope."_

"_Fine, I'll get there ASAP, Hiwatari, but I'd better not have to use CPR!"_

_Kai laughed as Tala hung up the phone. Hearing the yelling above him, Tala rushed up the stairs of the small apartment they were all shoved into and prepared to beat the crap out of his teammates._

_Blitzkreig50889: okay, don't kill me. I know that wasn't exactly a good way to end the prologue, but it'll just have to do. So, like always… (Glances at Kai)_

_Kai: (mumbles) please remember to review and hope you enjoyed the chapter. _


	2. Chapter 1

_Blitzkreig50889: okay, here we go! Here's chapter 1 to Summer Blaze. So, to keep things nice and short, Mariah, onward with the disclaimer please._

_Mariah: sure thing. Blitzkreig50889 does not own beyblade or any of its characters. She just owns her plot ideas and OCS, which will be mentioned in this chapter but not do any actual talking. On top of that, for this particular fic, there will be no more disclaimers as everyone should know how it goes by now._

_Blitzkreig50889: thank you Mariah. As always, enjoy the chapter!_

_Chapter 1_

_(Japan)_

_The sun slowly crept into the sky. For the residents there, everything was about to change. There'd soon be more people in the cities; there'd be more cars, business, and groups of tourists. On top of that, there'd soon be one of the most amazing tournaments around…or so the chairman of the BBA was telling the paparazzi._

_As the sun rose through the sky, people left their homes and walked, drove, or took some other form of transportation to their destinations. For the airport, it was time to prepare for the arrival of each of the major beyblading teams that would be arriving throughout the morning for the press conference later that evening at six._

_At eight in the morning, the first jet of bladers arrived. It wasn't large and it wasn't private owned so the staff was relieved in seeing that the Majestics, All Stars, and Blitzkrieg boys were not the first to arrive as they'd been dreading. Instead, the White Tigers were the first to enter Japan._

_The staff moved around swiftly and quietly so as not to disturb the team. The White Tigers appeared to be rather irritable, but they weren't complaining and as soon as they were able to exit the jet, they exited._

_Not long after the White Tigers arrived, F Dynasty and the Blitzkrieg Boys arrived. The staff was careful around the all male team, but relaxed around Raul and Julia of F Dynasty, both bladers easily in a cheerful mood._

_Shortly after that, the All Stars and Majestics arrived. The staff was shocked to see that both teams were in rather decent good moods and were even courteous enough to ask them how their day had been going so far. For the staff, this shock was a delight and they easily slipped into conversations with the two teams._

_As six o'clock rolled around, the country of Japan seemed to teem with energy. The paparazzi rushed to the area where the press conference was going to be held, hoping for shots of the elusive blading teams. Unfortunately, the teams had already been on location for several hours and their rushing was for naught._

_When six came around, everyone became quiet. In a matter of moments, Mr. Dickenson, the chairman of the BBA walked out of the hotel building he'd been standing in with the major blading teams right behind him. Each team casually lined themselves up and waited to hear what was going to be said about the upcoming tournament in August._

_Mr. Dickenson, naturally prompt, got straight on with his speech. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure to see that you could all make it here. In a matter of minutes I am going to announce the format for the summer tournament in August. As always, I have invited some of the most skilled bladers and I hope they manage to make this tournament a tournament for the ages. With that said, here's how this tournament is going to work._

_Each of the teams behind me will be split into several, three person teams. The three people that make up a team are placed together based on their knowledge, skill, and ability to handle tough situations. Each team will have precisely three weeks in which to learn how to work together and perfect a combination move that will require each of their elemental abilities to be present. Then, much like any other tournament leading up to the world championships, the teams will compete to see which team of three is the best. The team left standing at the end is the winner."_

_Mr. Dickenson broke off at this time to allow for questions and to allow the information to sink into the bladers' heads._

"_Mr. Dickenson, how do you intend to decide which members are to be placed in each team?" a reporter asked._

_Mr. Dickenson smiled. "I've already come up with each team of three and will post up the sheets with the members of each team listed on the side of Seaside Dome."_

_There were some murmurs and some more questions, all of which were answered efficiently. Then, much as they had earlier, the bladers followed the chairman back into the hotel to hear for themselves who would be their teammates._

_As soon as the doors were closed to the chairman's suite, Mr. Dickenson signaled for each team to sit down._

"_I certainly hope all has been well with everyone?" He asked softly. Quiet murmurs of agreement and nods told him all he needed to know._

"_So, Mr. D, are we going to find out who our new teammates are for the tournament?" Tyson asked, as impatient as ever._

_Mr. Dickenson chuckled. "You sure are! In front of me I have the lists of each of the eight teams and the members that will make up those teams. I also want to let each of you know now that the teams are final. There will be no changing the members of any team."_

_The sound of nervous shifting caused him to pause. He was about to do something that everyone had told him was absolutely insane. "With that said, here's the order for the teams:_

_Team 1: Robert, Enrique, and Tyson_

_Team 2: Ray, Bryan, and Michael_

_Team 3: Max, Kevin, and Raul_

_Team 4: Julia, Gary, and Rick_

_Team 5: Tala, Daichi, and Lee_

_Team 6: Emily, Spencer, and Oliver_

_Team 7: Ian, Steve, and Eddy_

_Team 8: Kai, Johnny, and Mariah_

_Silence met the chairman's ears as each blader stared at him in shock and fury. He watched quietly as Kai and Johnny both walked out of the room. The tension seemed to disappear out of the room at the exit of the two rival fire bladers._

"_Well, I wasn't expecting that," Enrique said after a moment. His voice still held the traces of shock he'd felt at hearing that Kai and Johnny were on the same team. He glanced over at Mariah as he spoke again. "Are you going to be able to handle those two?"_

_Mariah could only sit there in absolute shock. Sure Kai and Johnny were good bladers and not to mention hot, but there was no dang way she'd be able to handle their attitudes. They'd drive her straight up a wall._

"_Mariah?" Ray queried softly. She jerked and looked up at him._

"_What? Oh, sorry Ray, Enrique. I was just shocked. To be honest, I don't know if I can handle them. With their attitudes, I'm likely to go insane!_

_The bladers all looked over at Mr. Dickenson. "I'm not so sure that was a good idea," Oliver whispered. "I'm not sure that was a good idea at all."_

_(Outside)_

_Kai wandered through town with a rather irate Scot not too far behind him. They had both need to blow off some steam before walking back into that hotel room. They'd have ended up blasting something otherwise._

"_Do you think you can handle this?"_

_Kai looked over his shoulder at the whispered question. He didn't have a clue why Johnny had whispered, but the Scot had and there was nothing the Russian could do about it._

"_Handle what?"_

"_Working on the same team with me. With Mariah."_

_Kai shuddered as he remembered the other blader their three person team was made up of. He knew with an almost uncanny sense that Mariah still hated him. He also knew that it was unlikely the three of them, or even their bit beasts for that matter, would ever manage to get along._

"_I'll handle it as best as I can," He admitted after a moment, hating the fact he was admitting to a weakness. "I don't want to work with you or Mariah, but I don't have any other choice."_

_Johnny picked up his pace until he was level with Kai's left shoulder. "Okay. That works for me. And just so you know, I don't want to work with you or Mariah either, but I'll do it because I don't have any other choice if I want a chance to win that tournament. Damn, that would feel nice."_

_Kai blinked, but said nothing. Johnny kept pace with him for awhile before letting out a muffled Gaelic curse. "I guess we should get back to the others."_

_Kai had to fight the urge to run. He didn't want to head back in the slightest, but he would because he knew if he did run, he still would be stuck on the same team with Johnny and Mariah. Nothing he could do would ever change that._

"_Okay," was all he said to the Scot as he angled himself back towards the hotel. Johnny fell back somewhat and followed him back to the hotel._

_When both bladers reentered the hotel suite, they both noticed that the others were still in attendance, as if they'd been ask to stay until the two fire bladers returned._

"_Everything okay?" Ray asked._

_Kai gave his now 'old' teammate a stiff nod as Johnny mumbled out a "yeah."_

"_You two going to be okay with this?" Oliver asked the question in a soothing tone. The tone of voice he used caused both bladers to bristle. At the sight of the bristle, Oliver relaxed and gave the others a look that clearly said "They'll be just fine!"_

_Slowly each of the new teams gathered together and left the suite to head to the apartments that had been temporarily rented out for each of them. Before long, only the last team of three, the one consisting of Kai, Johnny, and Mariah, was left sitting in the suite._

"_Well, I guess this is it, isn't it?" Mariah said after a moment. "We're really doing this crazy thing."_

"_Yeah, we are," Johnny muttered after a moment. "And don't it bite too."_

"_There's nothing we can do about it," Mariah continued after an awkward five minutes of silence._

"_We know," Kai answered, finally speaking since he'd entered the room. "We discussed that somewhat when we stepped out of the room."_

_Mariah raised an eyebrow before glancing over at her new teammates. "You two actually held a civil conversation with one another? Wow, it seems miracles do happen."_

"_Don't push it," Johnny growled. "I think the only thing that kept us from trying to kill each other was straight out shock."_

"_And why are you talking to either of us anyway, Mariah? I already know you hate me, so why are you talking to me?" Kai asked after a moment._

_Mariah shrugged. "I guess I'm not much different from either of you two. I'm talking to you because I know I have to work with you. If I didn't have to work with either of you, I doubt I'd talk to you."_

_The room lapsed into silence again. Each blader stared intently at a wall until the slight smell of cinnamon-vanilla smoke filled the air._

"_You three don't intend to sit in those chairs all night do you?" a musical voice asked gently. Each of the bladers recognized the voice as belonging to Dranzer, Kai's bit beast. "Galux, Salamolyon, and I have agreed on a truce and we all wish to be moving to the apartment where we are to stay. I do believe that things there will be much better that what they are here."_

_Dranzer waited quietly to see if he would get a reaction out of any of the bladers. Kai was first to move. Mariah and Johnny moved simultaneously. _

"_Lead the way, Dranz," Kai muttered. "The sooner I can get this through my head, the better off we'll all be."_

_Dranzer would've raised an eyebrow if he had any. Instead, he simply nodded his head and led the three bladers to their new home away from home. And he sent a small warning to Salamolyon not to say anything until they were all sure that this was actually reality and not some crazy nightmare._

_Blitzkreig50889: well, there you go! There's chapter 1 for ya'll. I hoped you liked it. And yes, in case you were wondering, this fic is a friendship fic between Kai, Johnny, and Mariah, which was why they ended up as the main characters for this chapter. As for why the Flaming Hearts are not present in this fic although they were mentioned in the prologue, I've decided that they have some other business that needs to be taken care of in August and are unable to attend the summer tournament. And, as Mariah has left me and Kai is nowhere in sight, please remember to review and I'll update as soon as I can!_


	3. Chapter 2

_Blitzkreig50889: alright, here ya go everyone! Here's chapter 2 to Summer Blaze for you. Hope you like it! And like I mentioned last chapter, I'm not going to have anyone say a disclaimer since you probably already know my disclaimers by heart now, so it's straight to the fic, and in turn, the new chapter! Enjoy!_

_Chapter 2_

_The sun rose slowly. For the group of bladers sitting in an apartment building, the slow rise of the sun was a joy. Still, in a matter of hours, they'd officially be the new team that Mr. Dickenson had named Summer Blaze. For the two male members of the team, the name was ridiculous, but for the female member, it was at least something she could handle, although she had yet to figure out why the team was named Summer Blaze when she herself did not have the fire element as her two teammates did._

_At nine in the morning, several hours after the sun had rose, the three bladers left their rooms simultaneously, having already prepared themselves for the events that would take place during the day. Each headed to separate locations. Mariah was first to the bathroom, leaving Johnny and Kai to head either to the kitchen or outside for some fresh air._

_Inside the bathroom, Mariah took a quick look at her new uniform. The pink hair that she always kept long was pulled back like usual with a lighter shade of pink bandana. She wore a white t-shirt with a slight pink hem and dark blue jeans, something she'd come to favor over her Chinese garb when she was in any city. Her boots were a soft suede and still carried the brand new appearance as if they'd hardly been worn, which they hadn't. Her golden brown eyes looked a little less lively than usual, but she figured that came from a lack of sleep. Then, satisfied with how she looked, she proceeded to brush her teeth and once done, left the bathroom to check on her two male companions._

_Walking into the living room of the apartment, she noticed both of her new teammates sitting about as far away from each other as was humanly possible and tinkering with their beyblades. They had all decided that today and the next weeks to follow were all going to be dedicated to training and learning how to work together. Today was a training day._

_Glancing around the room she took in the two fire blader's appearances. Kai looked much as he always did. His hair was in its typical disarray and his clothes were much like the ones he'd worn during the last World Championships. The only difference this time around was that instead of the violet pants he'd worn before, he now wore dark jeans. And instead of sneakers, he was wearing dark brown boots. His scarf wasn't one, but Mariah could see it sitting on the small stand next to him._

_Johnny too, looked no different from the last time she had seen him. His mahogany hair, while shorter, still stood up much like a flame and was secured with a dark blue bandana. He'd kept his uniform he would've worn had his team made it into the World Championships and was wearing it now. At his feet sat his launcher, the giant double bladed axe gleaming in the morning light._

_As if sensing her presence, Johnny looked up. "You finally set to go?"_

_Mariah nodded. Then, before any of them could realize what they had done, the three of them moved in perfect synchronization and exited the apartment, with Kai picking up his scarf and putting it on as they moved to their training destination._

"_Gary!" Julia yelled in frustration. She'd been working for hours with her new teammates Gary and Rick, and so far they had yet to manage to get along for any length of time. It didn't even seem to matter that if they could just get along they'd be one of the toughest teams in the tournament; they just couldn't get along._

_Rick, as if understanding Julia's frustration, found the nearest tree branch and gently smacked Gary in the back of the head with it. "Wake up in there. You have to focus," the large male grumbled._

_Gary managed a lousy sounding 'sorry' and walked over to his currently upside down beyblade and picked it up. He then prepared to launch it again._

"_Try to get it right this time," Julia snapped. "We won't be any good if we can't manage to even launch our blades simultaneously into the dish."_

_Rick rolled his eyes and tuned Julia out like he had been doing for the past two hours. Although, he did have to admit, having Gary on the team was a little frustrating. If the idiot blader could just focus on blading on not on food they would all be much better off._

"_Ready?" Julia ordered to her teammates. When she received nods from both, the counted off. "Alright then. 3…2…1…let it rip!"_

_Three blades flew for the stadium and finally made it in. Julia let out a delighted cheer as they finally succeeded in simultaneous launches. However, she was quickly annoyed again as Gary's blade stopped spinning._

"_Gary!"_

_Rick rolled his eyes yet again and prepared himself to sit awhile. At this rate, they'd be the last team to get anything done._

_Oliver could hardly believe his eyes. Or his ears for that matter. What Emily and Spencer had decided to do was absolutely insane!_

"_You're going to do what?!" he asked Emily yet again._

_Emily let out a frustrated sigh. "We're going to set up an icebreaker, but it'll be beyblade style. We figure that if we know one another's blading styles, we'll be better able to work as a team."_

"_And if we know how to work as a team, we'll be able to win the tournament," Spencer added. "And don't worry. I didn't like the idea at first either, but I figure if it'll help us win the tournament, then it can't be all that bad."_

_Oliver frowned. He didn't really trust Emily all that much, especially since she was very adept at reading into her opponents moves. "I don't know," he said warily. "I'm not sure if I can trust you guys."_

"_We'll, you don't have much choice," Emily muttered. "Mr. Dickenson put us on the same team, so you're just going to have to deal with it."_

"_That I can handle. It's the trust part that I have a problem with," Oliver growled back at her._

_Spencer shook his head as the two starter bladers for the Majestics and All Stars began to argue. He was willing to bet they could be just as nasty as his own team's starter, Ian. Still shaking his head, Spencer went back to setting up the icebreaker that Emily had organized. Like Oliver, he didn't like it, but he'd live with it. Sometimes, a person had to give up a few secrets in order to gain a few, and for Spencer, he hoped the ones he gained from Emily and Oliver would be incredible. Otherwise, their team wouldn't stand a chance._

_Mariah panted from the exercises she'd put her body through. Her lungs were burning so badly she thought she was going to faint from lack of oxygen._

"_Good…God…" Johnny panted out as they finished their sixth lap across the beach. It had been difficult for them to find a spot to train, but once they'd found the beach, they'd all had went into immediate training._

_Kai, standing a little bit in front of his two teammates, looked back at them in disgust. "What? Can't you two handle a little jogging?"_

_Mariah and Johnny both glared at him. "It's not the jogging that's the problem," Johnny snarled. "It's the heat! Do you want us to get heatstroke?"_

_Kai shrugged before continuing one with his jogging. Mariah just groaned as Johnny dragged himself to his feet. He started to follow after Kai but hesitated and helped Mariah to her feet instead._

"_How many laps of this do we have left?" Mariah asked as she gained her feet and her balance._

_Johnny shrugged. "I don't have a clue. I guess however many Kai thinks we need to do yet."_

_Mariah groaned again. "Great. Then do me a favor, Johnny."_

_Johnny sent her a worried look. "What kind of favor?"_

_Mariah glared before answering him. "Just the type of favor where you promise me that if he gives me heatstroke from this you'll find Ray and convince him to beat the hell out of Kai for me."_

_Johnny laughed. "Alright, I'll do that. Now let's get moving before he decides we need to spend the whole day jogging."_

"_Oh, God!" Mariah half-laughed. "Lord help us if he decides to do that!"_

_Still grinning, the two of them hurried to catch up to Kai; and prayed they'd soon have something to do that would allow them to cool down, like swimming._

_From a nearby rooftop, the bit beasts of the bladers watched the training rounds with interest. "Do you think what Dickenson his trying to do will work?" one spoke up. His lithe amber form, golden back ridge armor, and two heads, easily identified him as Enrique's bit beast, Amphylyon._

_His companions at the moment, Tala, Daichi and Bryan's bit beasts, shrugged._

"_Who knows," Falborg murmured after a moment. "I guess it'll all be up to them."_

_Wolborg simply shook his head in amazement and Strata Dragoon wisely kept quiet. Neither bit beast wanted to say anything, both superstitious enough to think that if the phenomenon going on below them were talked about too much that the point of the tournament would then become pointless._

_After a moment, Amphylyon let out a bored sigh and flew into the air to rejoin with his master, their team the first to stop training for the day. With the heat as it was, it wasn't any wonder Robert had opted for them to only train for half the day. Add to that Tyson's lack of physical strength, and even Amphylyon was relieved that training for today was over._

_Watching Amphylyon's retreating back, the other chuckled. If this was how all the training days were going to be, then they wondered if this was all going to pay off for shocking tournament that the media and fans believed they were going to see._

_Blitzkreig50889: well, there you go. As always, please remember to review and I'll update as soon as I can!_


	4. Chapter 3

_Blitzkreig50889: well, here's chapter three of Summer Blaze for ya's! I'm glad you like the fic. To all of my reviewers so far, thanks! And to get straight to the point, here's chapter three._

_Chapter 3_

_Mariah panted as she struggled through another day of ruthless training. She'd been doing the same type of training for nearly a week and she had yet to become used to it._

_Pausing in her jogging, she watched as her two male teammates continued to jog in the hot sun. She found it incredible that both of them could manage to run for most of the day and not get heat stroke._

_Sighing, Mariah ran and caught up with both of them. Both bladers were incredibly sweaty and beginning to stink to high heavens, something she thought she would never come to know since both Kai and Johnny were natural athletes and seemed to do any sport or activity with ease._

"_Hey, Kai? Do you think we could stop for a little bit?" Mariah managed to ask through a parched throat. "I think I'm about to croak!"_

_Her small attempt at humor was ignored by the Russian, but not by the Scot. Johnny instantly stopped jogging and looked back at her as if taking in her appearance and state of health._

"_Kai, you probably should stop. I think Mariah is going to have some serious heat stroke if you keeping her running for too much longer," Johnny yelled up to the still jogging Kai._

_Kai paused before completely stopping and turning to give her a look. He could clearly see that Johnny was right. Mariah did look as if she was about to have a serious heat stroke._

"_You two go ahead and cool down for awhile. I'm going to keep on going," He yelled back to them. Johnny and Mariah both glared._

"_If you're going to continue, then we are to," Mariah hissed at him. "We won't last long in that tournament if we're not all physically on the same level. One of us could end up burning out before the others."_

_Kai rolled his eyes before jogging back in Johnny and Mariah's direction. He'd quickly learned that it was best to listen to Mariah in matters like this and Johnny in matters of actual health. Surprisingly, the Scot was very good with anything medical._

_Calmly and quietly, the three of them moved to the shade of the nearest tree. The instant relief from the heat caused Mariah to let out a sigh. Even Johnny seemed relieved to be out of the sun, if only for a few minutes. The Scot was even beginning to burn a little, a sure sign that he'd been in the sun a little too long._

"_So, now what?" Johnny asked after a moment. When he received baffled looks from both Kai and Mariah, he let out a sigh and explained what he was thinking._

"_What are we going to do once we manage to make ourselves physically fit? That can't be the only way to work as a team."_

_Mariah and Kai exchanged looks. Neither of them had any clue what to do about that. Both however, knew that they only had two weeks left in which to come up with a combination move for their bit beasts, get those same bit beasts to get along, and in turn, get themselves to get along with one another. When they weren't running or doing some form of training for the tournament, all of them were arguing._

"_I guess we'll work on getting along," Mariah said after a moment. "I mean, if we get along, surely our bit beasts will follow our example and then we'll be able to come up with our combination move we need to work on yet."_

_Kai stayed silent at Mariah's statements. She was probably right. "Okay," he said after a moment. "That sounds good, but how in all hell are we going to manage to get along? We have a hard enough time doing that when we're training, let alone when we're in the same building for any length of time with one another."_

_Johnny looked over at Mariah to gage her reaction. The lack of a reaction bothered him instantly. "Mariah?"_

_Mariah shook her head to clear it as Johnny's voice entered her mind. "Sorry, I was thinking. I think the only we're going to be able to get along is if we let bygones be bygones. I think we need to forgive one another for whatever one or two of us did to the other."_

_Kai raised an eyebrow. "In other words, you want us to apologize to one another? Sorry, but I don't think that's going to be possible."_

_As Mariah glared at the Russian and began to snarl at him, Johnny looked away. He didn't like what the only female member of the team had suggested, but he wasn't above forgiving and forgetting either._

"_Okay, sounds good to me," Johnny mumbled. Surprisingly, his mumble caught both Kai and Mariah's attention and settled the argument they'd been having._

"_What did you say?" Mariah queried some excitement noticeable in her voice._

"_I said, 'okay, sounds good to me.'"_

_Kai's jaw nearly dropped open as Mariah let out a whoop. He was so shocked that it took a handful of grass tossed at him by Johnny to snap him out of his shock. He was just about to say something rather snide when an angry roar filled his head._

"_I do not think so!" Salamolyon bellowed in all three bladers' heads. "I refuse to apologize for anything."_

_Wincing, Kai sent a glare in Johnny's direction. "I think you might want to fix that."_

_Johnny glared back before mentally snarling at Salamolyon to shut up. The salamander ended up shouting some profanity at the idea before Johnny finally managed to get his bit beast to quiet down. Thankfully, Galux and Dranzer agreed with the plan and helped to quiet the angered salamander down._

"_Well," Mariah managed after a moment. "I guess that takes care of that."_

"_OW!" Tyson howled as his blade smacked him directly in the forehead. "THAT HURTS!"_

_Enrique and Robert exchanged glances as Tyson expertly jumped around on one foot and rubbed his head. Their attempts to 'normalize' Tyson had been futile and the results were less than stellar. All Tyson had managed to do was repeatedly end up hit in the head with his blade and end up stubbing his toes after each round of jumping away from the rapidly spinning Dragoon._

"_I think he has got to be the most thickheaded blader around," Enrique whispered to his older teammate. Robert nodded his head in agreement before shaking it in exasperation as Tyson once again ended up jumping around the beystadium on one foot and rubbing his head._

"_I hate to say this," Robert muttered after a moment. "But I think our chances of even coming close to winning this tournament are quickly becoming zero."_

_Both European bladers sighed as Tyson ended up rolling down a hill._

"_Oh boy," Enrique groaned. "There he goes again."_

_Behind them, Griffolyon, Amphylyon, and Dragoon sweat dropped. "Why did I choose him again?" Dragoon asked of no one in particular._

"_Because you were an idiot," Griffolyon answered. "I'm beginning to wonder if you were drugged somehow to have picked such a dumbass for a master."_

_All three bit beasts chuckled softly before wincing as Tyson rolled into a dumpster head first._

_Sighing, all three bit beasts and Enrique and Robert, sat down on the grass._

"_Tyson, when you're finally ready to actually blade, let me know," Enrique yelled down to the howling World Champion. "And this time, try not to fall down the hill again!"_

"_Or into the river!" Robert added as Tyson ended up rolling down the hill again and into the river._

_Tyson groaned as his two teammates burst into laughter. At this rate, he figured he'd be the laughing stock of the tournament._

"_Ah!" Daichi screamed at the top of his lungs as his Strata Dragoon was quickly covered in ice for the tenth time that day. "Not again!"_

_Lee shook his head. He had looked around at the other teams to see if any of them were faring better than the one he was a part of. He was glad to see that they were struggling to work together too although he was fairly sure Tyson was only causing Robert and Enrique to laugh their asses off more than arguing with them. And Gary was most certainly driving Julia and Rick crazy. Kai, Johnny, and Mariah were fighting with Salamolyon to keep the salamander bit beast from tearing their heads off, and it appeared Oliver, Spencer, and Emily were trying not to strangle one another. So, seeing Daichi and Tala fighting again for the tenth time that day was of no surprise to him._

"_Will you two calm down?" Lee suggested. "It might make it easier for you to work together if you did."_

"_I'm not working with him!" Daichi and Tala yelled simultaneously while pointing fingers at each other. This set off another round of snarling on Daichi's behalf and bellowing on Tala's. Lee shook his head yet again. He could've sworn he'd never seen Tala talk, or yell as it were, this much in his life._

_Behind him, Galeon let out a snort. "They're worse than Bryan and Ian are."_

_Lee laughed. Galeon was right. Tala and Daichi did fight more than Bryan and Ian did, although Lee hated to admit that Bryan and Ian's fights were more hilarious._

"_You wouldn't find it so hilarious if you ended up being the one continually separating them when Spencer can't manage to even pry them apart with a crowbar," Wolborg growled._

_Lee choked back shock at the sound of the ice wolf's voice. Galeon just openly laughed before starting a conversation with the ice wolf and Daichi's Strata Dragoon. For the most part, Lee ignored it until Galeon said the last thing Lee ever thought he'd hear his bit beast say._

"_We could always handcuff them together."_

"_NO!" Wolborg yelled in horror as Strata Dragoon gasped out, "Are you insane!"_

_It took Lee a few minutes to realize that the bit beasts were trying to come up with the best way to make Tala and Daichi get along._

_Shaking his head, Lee turned on the bit beasts to look for Tala and Daichi. It only took him a moment to notice that Daichi was being chased around the park by Tala who happened to be holding a pistol._

"_Jesus!" Lee exclaimed as he ran after Tala to save Daichi from certain death. They'd never be able to participate in the tournament if Tala murdered Daichi. "Tala, Daichi, knock that mess the hell off!"_

_Blitzkreig50889: well, that's chapter 3 for ya's. And just so you have a general idea as to what's going on, this chapter showcased week one for some of the teams. The next two chapters showcase weeks two and three. The chapters after that are then the tournament itself and the epilogue. Anyway, as always, I hope you liked the chapter and please remember to review!_


	5. Author's Note

Blitzkreig50889: I'm just dropping in a quick note to tell everyone to expect a major fic update on Friday. I'm getting ready to head home for the summer so my fics won't likely be updated for quite awhile and I wanted to let everyone know. Down below is the list of fics going to be updated. Please bare with the length and be prepared to review like crazy over the long period of time the fics may end up sitting. And to my reviewers, thank you so much for being patient with me. As soon as I can get my college grades and GPA up I promise I'll update more often.

**Fics to be Updated on Friday:**

Flaming Hearts- this fic will actually be completed on Friday.

Hearts Unwritten: Kai and Ashley

Summer Blaze

Blading on the Streets

Song of Pink Roses

Frozen

Dark Calling (?)

Waves of Love

Blitzkreig50889: and added to that list will be a few new fics that I wrote during some stressful times this semester. Now that that is all said, enjoy your summer everyone and I'll try and update sometime before August!


	6. Chapter 4

Blitzkreig50889: well, it's been a long time in coming and I should have had this chapter up yesterday, but here's the next chapter in _Summer Blaze_! I finally finished each fic and now I can put them all up, starting with this one. So, for all those who were waiting patiently, here's my big update. And just as a reminder, I don't own beyblade or its characters. I just own my plot ideas and OCS. Enjoy!

_Chapter 4_

_Mariah awoke to an argument. It was nothing new, really. Each morning since she had suggested that Kai, Johnny, and herself learn to work together, she'd been waking up each morning to her male teammates snarling at one another. It was almost enough to drive her insane, but Mariah figured she was already there if she had managed to survive her teammates' tempers this long._

_With a sigh, she got out of bed and went downstairs to separate the two antagonists. She noticed almost immediately that Salamolyon seemed rather pleased with himself and figured the salamander was the cause of this morning's fight._

"_Galux, remind me to personally thrash that salamander in a couple hours," Mariah told her bit beast._

_Galux rumbled out a laugh. "You'll be lucky if you can even touch him, but I'll remind you all the same."_

_Quietly, Mariah finished her walk down the stairs, easily sneaking up on Kai and Johnny since neither was on the lookout. As she had done nearly every morning this week, she prepared to slam the two bladers' heads together._

"_With them standing as they are now, if you slam their heads together you'll likely cause them to end up kissing each other," Galux warned._

"_Serves them right, then," Mariah answered back. "After all, if just slamming their thick skulls together worked, I think we could all manage to wake up in the morning without a fight going on."_

"_Even if this fight is probably Salamolyon's fault?"_

_Mariah nearly laughed at Galux. "Yeah, even if this one is Salamolyon's fault."_

_Galux shook her head before sitting down on the floor in her spiritual form. There was no need for her to take a physical form unless Kai or Johnny should try and retaliate after Mariah slammed their heads together. So far, neither blader had entertained the idea let alone acted on it._

_Calmly, and without the slightest hesitation, Mariah gripped each blader's head and slammed them together. Gagging sounds told her Galux had been right about the two bladers' positions. "You two done now?" She asked them as she walked away._

_For several long moments, nothing was said as both Kai and Johnny attempted to spit out something that wasn't there. Mariah hid her smile by carefully turning her back on them._

_Finally, "Salamolyon, I'm going to kill you for this one!" Johnny snarled at his bit beast._

_Salamolyon's eyes went wide in disbelief before he disappeared from sight, obviously stung by his blader's show of temper._

_Kai, having finally given up on trying to spit his mouth clean, turned towards Mariah. "We deserved that one didn't we?"_

"_Very much so."_

"_Oh," was the only response he gave her before he turned to face his bit beast. Johnny continued to fume for a few minutes before he too looked at Mariah._

"_You don't intend to do that again, do you?"_

_Mariah knew he was talking about the unintended head butt kiss. "Not as long as you and Kai don't fight with one another."_

_Johnny gave her a horrified look. He and Kai had been fighting like this for nearly a week! He shuddered at the idea that she could force them to do __**THAT**__ again._

"_Okay, I'll call a truce if Salamolyon will leave me alone," the Scot heard himself say._

_Mariah turned around, a grin on her face. "Good. Kai, you in on that idea?"_

_Kai shrugged. Mariah sighed and Johnny shook his head. Both took that as a 'yes.'_

_Lee tapped a foot impatiently as Tala and Daichi once again got into a fight over the morning dishes. Since he had did them yesterday, he had left the chore to Daichi. The only problem though was this: Daichi didn't want to do the dishes and kept insisting Tala do them instead._

_Feeling frustrated from lack of sleep and lack of teamwork, Lee walked out the door, uncaring if Tala killed Daichi or not. He'd had enough. They were getting nowhere and he was almost ready to tell Mr. Dickenson about it too._

"_Maybe you should try and lead them in the right direction," Galeon suggested quietly._

_Lee scoffed. "And have Tala turn me into a human ice sculpture? No thank you!"_

"_Well, we're certainly not getting anywhere with Tala running the operations, if you know what I mean."_

_Lee knew all too well what Galeon was talking about. He just didn't want to be on the other side of Tala's temper. And he just didn't know how to go about leading their small group. Tala and Daichi were nothing like his White Tiger teammates._

_With a sigh, Lee walked towards the park. He didn't know where else to go and was immediately surprised to see not just one of his fellow bladers, but two. Spencer and Michael appeared to be having no better luck with their teams than he was having with his. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to talk to either blader, Lee walked up to them._

"_Having team troubles too," he greeted. Spencer and Michael both groaned their agreement._

"_You have no idea what we're going through," Michael stated. "Or more specifically, what I've been forced to go through. One moment, Ray and Bryan can be acting like they're the best of friends, the next their trying to kill each other by any means possible!"_

"_And he's not the only one," Spencer mumbled. "If you think they're bad, you haven't seen Oliver or Emily pissed off. Those two are enough to scare you into believing demons walk the earth."_

_Lee laughed at Spencer's tone. He couldn't help it. Just the image of Oliver or Emily as demons was enough to make him smile. "I think they could give Tala and Daichi a run for their money," Lee said, a smile still on his face._

_Spencer sent Lee a pitying glance. "Okay, I think our problems are nearly non-existent compared to yours."_

_Michael nodded his head in agreement. "Those two probably make Ian and Steve's fights look lame."_

_Lee's head shot up. He had forgotten all about Ian being placed on a team with Steve and Eddy. That was something he was sure was a disaster. "Okay, I'm not feeling so horrified about my own team anymore. Just the idea of what you guys are going through is making my problems by the name of Tala and Daichi look lame."_

_Spencer offered a weak smile. "Is Tala supposed to be ringleader?"_

"_Yup."_

_Spencer exchanged a glance with Michael before he spoke again. "You try to lead instead?"_

_Lee gave Spencer a look of absolute shock. "No, that would be kin to suicide!"_

_Spencer shook his head. "No, actually it wouldn't. If you lead instead, and you explain why you should lead to Tala, he'll probably understand, especially since you both have to deal with Daichi. That might allow you guys to progress along better."_

"_And," Michael added, "It might just be what we need to do too. My team is currently stuck with Bryan in leader's position. Maybe that's why we're not working together very well."_

_Behind them, they could hear a clock striking ten and a set of feet approaching them rapidly. All three bladers turned to see Raul running through the park. Not far behind him followed Max and Kevin, both bladers, like Raul, appeared not to have a care in the world._

"_Hey, guys!" Max greeted as he passed them. "Best of luck to you!"_

_Lee, Michael, and Spencer exchanged baffled looks. Max, Kevin, and Raul were probably the only team who appeared to be having no difficulties._

"_Lucky them," Lee caught himself muttering as he watched the group continue their jog through the park._

_If Lee could have been in Raul's head, he probably wouldn't believe what the tag-team expert beyblader was thinking. Raul was most certainly not happy._

_Normally, he didn't have any problems with Max or Kevin. Sure, Kevin could get on one's nerves if you weren't careful what you said or did, but for some reason, Raul found himself losing patience with the younger blader. And Max wasn't helping._

_As he was running ahead of his teammates, Raul gave in to the urge to think about this morning. It had started out like any other morning. No fights, no complaints, and most importantly, no bad jokes. It seemed as if today would be just like any other day, with this particular team proving that teamwork among rival teams was indeed possible if one just took the time to work things out straight from the beginning._

_Everything had still been fine until it was time for the jog they had all decided they'd take every morning before they worked on their tag-team move. It was how they'd been doing things for nearly two weeks. And as they had just started week two, Raul had expected the routine to stay that way. Today though, had been different._

_He passed Lee, Michael, and Spencer just as he replayed this morning's events._

"_Why can't we beyblade first for a change?" Kevin whined. "I'm tired of running every morning."_

"_We have to keep to our routine, Kevin. That's what's allowing us to work together better than the other teams," Max said calmly. Almost nothing could piss Max off, and Kevin appeared to be no exception._

"_Yeah, yeah, I get that, but the other teams are already working on their tag-team attacks and we haven't even started on them yet."_

_Raul rubbed his temples. He absolutely refused to let Kevin get to him after he'd made it this far. He could be patient! He could! With a sigh, he spoke. "It takes time to be good at tag-team moves, Kevin."_

_Kevin rounded on Raul. "Oh, and I take it you think you'll be leading this team since you're mister tag-team know-it-all?"_

_Raul fought his temper as he'd never fought it before. Like Max, Raul didn't lose his temper often, but when he did, most felt the sting of it for weeks. He wasn't about to lose it now._

"_I don't expect to be leader, Kevin. Max can do that. I'm just trying to give us an edge against the other teams."  
_

"_Yeah, well your edge against the others sucks. Even Kai, Johnny, and Mariah are starting to make us look like lame ducks now, and those three can't get along for crap."_

_Max risked a glance in Raul's direction. The tag-team blader looked as if he was about to explode and rip Kevin to pieces. Immediately, Max took charge._

"_Time to jog. Let's go Kevin, and no complaining."_

_Max's tone of voice was enough to shock Kevin into obeying. As Kevin took off at a fast pace to vent his anger Max turned back towards Raul. "You okay?"_

_Slowly, Raul nodded. "Yeah, but I won't take that from him again, Max. I can't."_

"_I know. He's rather like Daichi there. Leave Kevin to me. You just keep your focus. Believe it or not, you're probably our biggest asset."_

_Raul stared after Max for a moment, before he jogged after his teammates. As usual it wasn't long before he passed either of them to jog in the front._

_With a sigh, Raul cleared his head of the morning's events. Max was right. Focus is what they needed and he couldn't afford to lose it now. Kevin might not like what they were doing everyday, but it was the right thing to do. As a team, they'd prove it in the tournament._

Blitzkreig50889: whew! There you go. Just a little over five pages, 2002 words, and the fourth chapter to _Summer Blaze_. I hope you all enjoy it, please review, and I'll have my other fics updated with this one shortly!


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